“I’m not here to write any books, I just enjoy bike racing,” explained Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) on Sunday, as he put the final touches to a historic spring with yet another solo victory, this time on the roads of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. When it comes to racing a bike, the Slovenian is among the greatest ever. “I can only be happy and humble that I’m so good at it,” adds the rider who, together with his rivals, made this Classics campaign a very special one.
As is tradition, the spring began with the opening weekend in Belgium. And it all started with the bang, as Norwegian Søren Wærenskjold gave Uno-X Mobility their first ever success in a UCI WorldTour one-day race. The 25-year-old powerhouse is only the second Norwegian to win the Omloop Nieuwsblad (celebrating its 80th edition), 16 years after fellow Norwegian Thor Hushovd… who now acts as the General Manager of Uno-X Mobility.
Similar references to history could be made all over the spring, all the way to Liège, where Pogačar claimed victory exactly 30 years after his manager Mauro Gianetti. On his route to triumphing on the Quai des Ardennes, the Slovenian star crossed the col de Haussire, deemed as “Belgium’s hardest hill”, which last featured on the course of the Doyenne in 1995, when Gianetti took his win. But Pogačar’s conquests go much further than nods and references to the rich history of the Classics.
He is breaking new ground.
Pogačar on all terrains
Pogačar’s spring campaign started in Italy early March, in the Strade Bianche, when he rode away to his third victory in Siena, matching Swiss Fabian Cancellara’s record to earn a prestigious reward: a white road section will be named after him. He is also the first rider to win back-to-back editions of the men’s Strade Bianche, and the first to triumph in the men’s event with the rainbow jersey on his shoulders.
Milano-Sanremo (Italy) escaped him, despite a daring attack on the Cipressa, but his victory in a spectacular Belgian Monument Ronde van Vlaanderen reflected his quest for greatness, a week before his first attempt at Paris-Roubaix (France). Seeing him on the startline to take on the Hell of the North was already historic - he is the first reigning Tour de France winner to do so since the USA’s Greg LeMond in 1991. His duel with Mathieu Van der Poel (NED) propelled things into another dimension as he became the first reigning Tour de France winner to podium the race (2nd) since Belgian Eddy Merckx half a century ago (1975).
Further successes at the Belgian events La Flèche Wallonne (his second) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (his third) meant a few more steps into history. Pogačar has podiumed all four Monuments of this spring, a feat only achieved before him by Merckx (in 1969 and 1975) and Sean Kelly (1984). And if we look back to Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2024, when he soloed his way to victory, it was the start of a sequence that saw him become the first rider ever to step on the podium of six consecutive Monuments, taming cobbles and hills to display his unique talent on every terrain.
Sanremo and Roubaix still (narrowly) resist him, but Pogačar has now won nine Monuments (Ronde van Vlaanderen x2, Liège-Bastogne-Liège x3 and Il Lombardia x4). Only two riders have a better record: Eddy Merckx (19) and another Belgian, Roger De Vlaeminck (11).
MVDP, the spring’s other history maker
Just behind the Slovenian, Mathieu Van der Poel is now up to eight Monuments (Milano-Sanremo x2, Ronde van Vlaanderen x3, Paris-Roubaix x3) after beating Pogačar in both Sanremo and Roubaix this spring. The Dutchman is the first rider this century to win Milano-Sanremo after a move that kicked off before the Poggio. And the same applies to his run of three consecutive wins in Paris-Roubaix, a feat only achieved before him by Frenchman Octave Lapize (1909, 1910, 1911) and the Italian Francesco Moser (1978, 1979, 1980).
A fourth successive victory would be unprecedented in the Hell of the North. And there are many more landmarks to achieve in the next spring Classics campaign. But for now, the peloton of the UCI WorldTour turns to the Tour de Romandie (Switzerland), where Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) will try to add another victory to his palmares, and where another favourite, Portugal’s João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), dreams of becoming the first Portuguese winner of the race. More history is also waiting to be written.
Lidl-Trek, the best of others…
While Uno-X Mobility took a milestone victory at the start of the Classics campaign, another team able to score in addition to the teams of Pogačar and MVDP was Lidl-Trek, which added a Flandrian and an “Ardennaise” Classic to its list of successes. With its leader Mads Pedersen, they were able to win Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields and to complete the podium of Paris-Roubaix: Pedersen claimed third place in the 'Hell of the North', to ensure a podium entirely occupied by UCI Road World Champions (reigning or former). But the surprise came from Pedersen's fellow Dane and Lidl-Trek teammate Mattias Skjelmose who was faster than Pogačar on the finish line of Amstel Gold Race.
Finally, another surprise was the victory of the USA's Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) at Dwars door Vlaanderen - à travers la Flandre, who was able to win the race by outsprinting three Visma | Lease a Bike riders, including Wout van Aert.
The winners of the 2025 UCI WorldTour spring one-day races:
Omloop Nieuwsblad: Norway’s Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility)
Strade Bianche: Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Milano-Sanremo: The Netherlands’ Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Classic Brugge-De Panne: Colombia’s Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
E3 Saxo Classic: Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields: Denmark’s Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
Dwars door Vlaanderen: USA’s Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost)
Ronde van Vlaanderen: Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Paris-Roubaix: Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Amstel Gold Race: Denmark’s Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek)
La Flèche Wallonne: Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Liège-Bastogne-Liège: Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)